Teacher Contract Talks Break Up at 2:30 a.m., No Deal

After a cold day on the picket line on Wednesday, the Evergreen Park Federation of Teachers bargaining team went off into another negotiation session with Dist. 124 school board in attempt to end the week-old teachers strike.

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Both sides entered contract talks at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and negotiated until 2:30 a.m. Thursday. A message on the Evergreen Park Federation of Teachers Facebook page said that the school board called off negotiations for the night.

Contract talks will resume again at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Before the union went back into a huddle with school board members, parents held a press conference in front of Central Junior High School, demanding answers from the school board.

The D124 school board has opted to inform parents of contract negotiations via the school district’s website and through brief statements to the news media.

Three board members who aren’t sitting at the bargaining table did not attend a community forum organized by the Evergreen Park teachers union at the American Legion Hall on Monday evening, although D124 board members had been invited.

According to union members, two of those board members were said to be out of town.

The Evergreen Park teachers union has put together a free student enrichment program at Jacob’s Well Community Church that begins on Thursday. The half-day sessions are free and available to all D124 students. The program will be taught by striking teachers.

Teachers and paraprofessionals from the district’s five public grammar schools have been on strike since Oct. 2.

Read Patch's ongoing strike coverage:

• EP Teachers Strike Moves Into Second Week
• No Deal Reached During Sunday Bargaining Session

• No Deal After Marathon Session to End EP Teachers Strike
• EP Teachers Union Organizes Community Forum - UPDATE
• National Union President Walks D124 Picket Line Before Another Round of Talks
• What To Do With Your Kids During the Evergreen Park Teachers Strike
• EP Students Join Teachers on Picket Line
• D124 Plays Hardball With EP Teachers Union
• Strike On: EP Teachers Walk Picket Line
• Last Chance for EP Teachers and D124 to Avoid Strike
• Scenes of a Protest: EP Teachers Stage Noisy Rally on 95th Street
• Threat of EP Teachers Strike Looms
• EP Teachers Set Oct. 2 Strike Date
• No Agreement In D124 Contract Talks

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